Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Trump Has A Problem With White Women in Swing States

For Donald Trump to win the White House in November, he'll need the votes of women like lifelong Republican Wendy Emery.

Yet the 52-year-old from the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, is struggling with the idea of voting for her party's presumptive presidential nominee.

"I'm just disappointed, really disappointed," she said while standing in her arts and crafts shop. She and her circle of friends are "still in shock" over Trump's success and wonder who's voting for him, "because we don't know any of them."

Emery's negative impression of Trump was shared by most of the dozens of white, suburban women from politically important states who were interviewed by The Associated Press this spring. Their views are reflected in opinion polls, such as a recent AP-GfK survey that found 70 percent of women have unfavorable opinions of Trump.

While white voters continue to abandon the Democratic Party, small gains with white women could help put likely nominee Clinton over the top if the November election is close. Democrats believe these women could open up opportunities for Clinton in North Carolina, where President Barack Obama struggled with white voters in his narrow loss in the state 2012, and even in Georgia, a Republican stronghold that Democrats hope to make competitive.

Patty Funderburg of Charlotte, North Carolina, voted for Republican Mitt Romney in 2012, but says she's already convinced that Trump won't get her vote.

1 comment:

cimbri
said...

Yeah, speaking of which, he might need a woman on the ticket, rather than a retread like Newt. That VP pick is pretty important. I hope he gets someone who can attack well and also bring even more excitement to the ticket.